Chapter 2 Misunderstanding

Mrs. Carson, the housekeeper, barked, "Get up! Go and help out in the kitchen! There is no free lunch!" I sat up. "Yes, Mrs. Carson. Right away!" I stood in front of the mirror to look at my different-colored eyes. Heterochromia, it was called. Royalty had red irises, while commoners had black. My right eye was black, which made me look out of place. In this world, those with heterochromia were the lowliest of all beings. It was a sign of bad luck. Even if I had one red eye, I was still the lowliest. I rubbed my eye with the plaster dust from the wall, then I covered it with my hair. I have been doing this since I was young. Ever since I could remember, I have never once shown my right eye. I only hope to live this way for the rest of my life. Diana did not want me to live for free, so she got me to take over my mother's position. Luckily, I liked to cook. However, I did not feel I was in the best shape that day. I was still feeling dizzy as if I could pass out on the floor at any second. On the way back from the banquet hall after delivering something, my head was spinning, and I fell onto someone. His scent was familiar. It was light yet refreshing. I could not pinpoint where I had sniffed that scent before. When I looked up, I saw someone looking at me in detest. Who was he? Everyone around him looked at me in shock. An icy tone came from above me. "Have you had enough yet? Get up!" I frantically got up from him. Someone next to him said to him timidly, "Your Majesty, let me take you to have a change of clothes." Your Majesty? Could it be Vincent, the king of Houghton? I was done for! Everyone knew how much of a clean freak Vincent was. He never let anybody's scent rub on him. I nervously lowered my head. "I…I'm sorry. I… I didn't mean to do it on purpose…" I was afraid that he would get me executed! I did not want to die! Vincent looked at his clothes and waved his hand at the person next to him. He walked over to me and looked down at me from high above. "Are you Diana's older sister, Jasmine?" I did not dare to look up as I stuttered, "Y-Yes, I-I am…" I could feel his gaze on me. Not only his, but everyone else's too. I wanted to hide in a hole. After a long while, Vincent said, "You got my clothes dirty!" I lowered my head and clutched my clothes tightly. All I did was apologize profusely. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" The surrounding guests talked among themselves. "Where are her manners?" "Yes, is she trying to seduce her own brother-in-law?" "How improper of her! Blocking her eye with her hair! No royalty behaves like her!" "She is still a child of the Georges. Why does she look so poor and dirty?" "How disgusting!" "What an ugly girl!" No! I was not! I was not seducing my brother-in-law! I did not mean to do it on purpose. I was not dirty! The comments about me increased. I truly hoped that someone could stand up and help me, but the only person who would help me was murdered by my own hands. Vincent looked at me fiercely. "How could you be such a clod? You have no right to be Diana's older sister!" Yes. Diana had etiquette lessons ever since she was a child while I spent my days in the kitchen. Although we were both my father's daughters, our lives were worlds apart. Vincent stopped talking to me. Right at this moment, a servant was about to wipe his clothes when Vincent gave him a death glare. The servant was so frightened that he immediately retreated. If there was not a crowd at that moment, I would most likely have been chopped up into pieces. Right at this moment, Diana came over in a gown. Look at her! How regal and gorgeous! Vincent's gaze turned tender when he saw Diana. "My dear, why did you come over?" Everyone was surprised at how quickly Vincent's expressions changed. He was just about to murder someone a second ago, yet his gaze immediately turned gentle at the very next moment. Even his tone was soothing. Diana coquettishly wrapped her arms around Vincent's. "I couldn't see you, so I came looking for you. What happened?" "It's nothing. Someone just got my clothes dirty." Diana heard the comments from the crowd. Seeing how embarrassed I looked, she easily guessed what had happened. Diana looked at Vincent. "Since your clothes are dirty, let's get you changed. You shouldn't get angry over someone unimportant! I'll deal with it." Vincent nodded. "I'll see you at the wedding, my dear." Then, Vincent left with his guards to change his clothes. Diana looked at Vincent leaving with affection in her eyes. When she turned around to look at me, the affection was all gone. "Are you trying to seduce my fiance? I've told you that he is not yours to have. You've seen it for yourself too. He only has eyes for me." I waved my hands frantically, trying to explain, "Diana, you have to believe me. I wasn't trying to do anything. I only stumbled and fell. If you don't believe me, you can ask the others. They can be my witness." Diana looked around at the guests. "Okay. I'll ask everyone then. Did she trip or did she do it on purpose?" The guests looked at each other. One of them stood out. "Princess Diana, she did it on purpose." Everyone chimed in. "Yes, Princess, she did it on purpose!" I panicked. I walked over to that guest and grabbed her arm. "Why are you lying? You clearly saw what happened! I didn't do it on purpose!" She shrugged my hand off her and glanced at me. "Ms. Jasmine. What I saw is the truth. You're the vicious one trying to seduce another woman's husband!" I was outnumbered. Even if I tried to explain, I did not know where to begin. I let them blame it on me. They were drunk with Diana's powers. In a place like this, power meant everything. I turned around, still trying to explain to Diana. "Diana, I-I really wasn't doing that!" Diana crossed her arms. "Stop trying to explain yourself! Do you want to say that you accidentally fell onto Vincent? Jasmine, do you think I'll believe you? Can you come up with a better excuse for trying to seduce my fiance?" I shook my head with tears in my eyes. "I didn't do it!" Diana came over and whispered in my ear, "I'm warning you. Don't fantasize about someone you can't have. The queen's throne is mine."